The present invention relates to furniture construction; and more particularly, it relates to a structural system for furniture constructed of lightweight materials, such as corrugated fiberboard or the like.
Furniture articles, such as chairs, made of fiberboard or the like are well-known in the art and are recognized as being relatively inexpensive and of light weight. Since materials like fiberboard are of limited strength and durability, the application of such materials to the making of chairs or similar articles of furniture requires that construction techniques be utilized that provide articles capable of withstanding and supporting the weight of users of the chair.
A common feature of most construction techniques used in fiberboard chairs is that of interlocking slotted structural components disposed perpendicular to one another. Such construction is typically used in the seat portion of the furniture article where the greatest amount of support and strength is required. Representative of this type of construction are Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 2,806,514; Holden, U.S. Pat. No. 2,904,105; Holden U.S. Pat. No. 2,940,513; Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 2,955,647; Harrison, U.S. Pat. No. 3,331,634; and Notko, U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,703.
Although the above patents employ the aforementioned basic feature of fiberboard furniture construction, the actual manner of implementation of this construction feature and other features of fiberboard chair construction, such as the manner of covering the outside portion of the chair, have been widely divergent.
One technique for covering the outside portion of the seat support structure is that of using several separate fiberboard panels having hinged tabs and slots to engage one another. Representative of fiberboard chairs using this type of construction techniques are the Holden patents.
For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 2,904,105, Holden patent discloses a fiberboard chair wherein the seat bottom and back portions are covered by a single panel folded to conform to the shape of the chair, and each arm and side section is covered by a separate outer panel. In the U.S. Pat. No. 2,940,513, Holden patent, L-shaped panels for covering the sides of the chair are hinged to a panel that partially covers the backside of the seat back. A front section panel includes a rectangular seat bottom panel, and a separate panel is used to cover the front side and the remainder of the backside portions of the seat back.
Another approach to covering the support structure of a fiberboard chair is that of using a fiberboard blank cut and scored for folding into a housing for the seat support structure. Representative of this type of construction technique are Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 2,806,514; Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 2,955,647; Harrison, U.S. Pat. No. 3,331,634; and Notko, U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,703.
The U.S. Pat. No. 2,955,647, Smith patent, for example, covers a core structure of interlocking components with an upright, rectangular tube that is scored for folding to create panel sections for covering the seat, back and arm portions that are defined by the core structure.
The chair construction described in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,806,514 Smith patent utilizes a single blank of fiberboard that is cut to provide a back panel, side panels, and attached to one of the panels is an end panel. The blank is scored for folding to place the side panels at right angles to the back panel, with the end panel being positioned at right angles to the side panels. Support panels are arranged within the housng structure defined by the folded blank and are interlocked with parts of the housing in order to provide strength to it. The forward portions of the side panels are scored to provide flaps provided with tabs. Upon folding, the forward portions of the side panels provide a cover for the seat back.